So what about Michael Hoecht? I haven't heard anything about him good, bad or indifferent. He's a guy I think is projected to be a starter at OLB. Has he even been practicing or playing in the scrimmage?
Rams worst team talent wise in NFL?
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Since we don't have a media sticky, I'll just put this here... It's a tough watch, and dude underestimates some areas of the team ie. WRs, so watch at your peril.
View: https://youtu.be/_ltLUuMKhTI
View: https://youtu.be/_ltLUuMKhTI
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All he has to do is say Kolone and Evans started in the games Stafford started and that is 100% the reason Stafford did horrible last year interception wise
I saw this title yesterday and didn’t even bother clicking.
Yeah, I was bored during my lunch and made the mistake of watching and now I am passing that mistake onto you fine people
LARAMSinFeb.
Hall of Fame
"2022 was an extreme reality check for this franchise." Clicked away.
He definitely has good moments but does anybody think Hoecht is anything but a fill in this year until we get 2 good long term Edges?
No, he's what we could call a stop gap till they find something better. Sad thing is, he's probably their second best pass rusher to Donald. And Donald will be double and tripled teamed most times. I was very unimpressed with the pass rush last week. I hope things improve soon.
One thing I can say about Hoecht is that he has a good motor. Works hard to get in the QB's face. He just doesn't have the skill a higher caliber rusher has. And he sure got caught out of position on misdirection runs a number of times last year. I hope he learns from that.
Watching Hoecht in his limited time tonight was not impressive. Like the rest of the front 7 he was pretty meh. I had hopes he could be that edge rusher they need. So far it isn't looking like it. As far as available vet edge rushers we can cross Clowney off the list. He signed with the Ravens. After Quinn had his issues with the law I think its safe to say he won't be considered. Not much left. I think what we have is what we get.
So maybe pick up a cut from the scrap heap for this year. And consider trade and FA options for next year. McVay is going to want a proven Edge to go with Young or Kier Thomas next year.
Yeah, I see a Hollins type pick up on waivers. A young vet caught in a numbers game on a deep front 7.
Is this factoring in depth at each position? If so then the ranking is probably somewhat accurate as the Rams 2 deep talent leaves a lot to be desired. There are some bad NFL level players on the Rams second and third strings.
I know we should take what we see in the preseason with a grain of salt. Whether its good or bad. But honestly, the edge rusher position was already considered the biggest weakness on the team. And so far no one has shown they are ready to step up there. Every quarterback they go up against sure seems to have plenty of time to throw.
If 2023 is what I suspect, they won't be looking at the scrap heap for veteran help there. This is going to be a learning season for a number of young players. Some of then will be starters. Or at least part of a rotation where they will get their share of playing time.
My expectations were not high to begin with. I'd say from what I saw so far nothing has changed with that. I think its gonna be one of those seasons like before McVay arrived. When we'd be looking at the progress of young guys with the hope of them being good enough to win in the future.
If 2023 is what I suspect, they won't be looking at the scrap heap for veteran help there. This is going to be a learning season for a number of young players. Some of then will be starters. Or at least part of a rotation where they will get their share of playing time.
My expectations were not high to begin with. I'd say from what I saw so far nothing has changed with that. I think its gonna be one of those seasons like before McVay arrived. When we'd be looking at the progress of young guys with the hope of them being good enough to win in the future.
Snead needs to pluck at least a couple of DTs off the waiver wire who are capable of stopping the run-- or this will be a very long season-- I don't think McVay came back to get beat like a drum.
The hope with the defensive front is that AD elevates some of them. Start with Young for example. We have seen that blindside job benefit greatly from AD's presence and the inability of OL to focus them when they have to keep AD under control. So I think Young is really important to us this year and we're gonna have to grow with him and hope he's not only capable but mentally strong and improving every week as we go.
Hoecht should be the other end. So far he looks like he's lost some power, which isn't good, but if he can contain better I suppose it's worth it as that was his issue. This isn't pop warner. If you have a DT on the edge you're gonna get tested out there and then isolated and beat over and over until you do something about it. I'm still on the fence with Hoecht but will admit he hasn't looked great thus far.
As to the interior DL all I can say is if we get improvement in some of these guys ok great. But over 17 games vs starters it's likely to be ugly on a lot of snaps. I mean for me to think otherwise would require that I have been seeing a lot from the guys like Brown who were expected to step into the roles vacated by Gaines and Robinson. Turner I actually expect to play well for us, though of course it's not like I have real evidence to expect that. It's just that his college game tape looks pretty damn good and while he's more of a penetrating 3T type than the space eater we need next to AD he looks like a quality addition to me.
Looking at this front as a whole it is undeniable that we're gonna be short. But there's a chance the Rams get the offense they want and put teams down on points early and often and then being short on run stuffing won't matter so much. So I'm expecting a lot of struggles for this unit and we'll see who steps up, if anyone.
Hoecht should be the other end. So far he looks like he's lost some power, which isn't good, but if he can contain better I suppose it's worth it as that was his issue. This isn't pop warner. If you have a DT on the edge you're gonna get tested out there and then isolated and beat over and over until you do something about it. I'm still on the fence with Hoecht but will admit he hasn't looked great thus far.
As to the interior DL all I can say is if we get improvement in some of these guys ok great. But over 17 games vs starters it's likely to be ugly on a lot of snaps. I mean for me to think otherwise would require that I have been seeing a lot from the guys like Brown who were expected to step into the roles vacated by Gaines and Robinson. Turner I actually expect to play well for us, though of course it's not like I have real evidence to expect that. It's just that his college game tape looks pretty damn good and while he's more of a penetrating 3T type than the space eater we need next to AD he looks like a quality addition to me.
Looking at this front as a whole it is undeniable that we're gonna be short. But there's a chance the Rams get the offense they want and put teams down on points early and often and then being short on run stuffing won't matter so much. So I'm expecting a lot of struggles for this unit and we'll see who steps up, if anyone.
Pretty tough for me to imagine the Rams with the worst talent in the NFL at this point. We've been trotting out near 35 draft picks, UDFA's & 2'nd year players for our 2 pre-season games so far, often against an opposition occasionally using starters or #2 depth. The Rams starters & 53 roster is going to look a lot better, although there will remain some pretty big deficiencies with our defensive front 7.
Stafford is looking great in camp, Kupp will return soon, and our wide receiving corps appears very deep, same with our group of young RB's. We are well set at TE with Higbee, Hopkins & Allen, perhaps Hunter Long shows his face eventually also. The only grade I can give to our OL at the moment is ... adequate, since we haven't seen what chemistry a combination of Jackson, Avila, Allen, Anchrum & Havenstein might bring. Either way, I believe our OL depth has far, far improved from last season.
The defense should be fine at ILB with Jones, Hummel and ... I've got Deandre Square leading at #3 for the moment. Once Aaron Donald is back starting, our DL should certainly be returning to a more positive course. Bobby Brown has shown improvement, the battles between Murchison, Copeland, Jonah Williams, Earnest Brown, Desjuan Johnson & VanValkenburg continue. If nowhere else for now, Kobie Turner could offer some relief rotation for Donald. Our OLB's are plentiful, but who actually steps up in our hour of need ? Who can apply QB pressure, and who will set the EDGE ? I'm very happy with the way our DB's are shaping up, but without a solid pass rush, I fear it will be a tough year.
I'm still guessing at 6 or 7 wins for this season, although with our newly acquired experience, added high draft picks and much increased CAP for 2024, going deep into the play-offs is a bet I'd place.
jmo.
Stafford is looking great in camp, Kupp will return soon, and our wide receiving corps appears very deep, same with our group of young RB's. We are well set at TE with Higbee, Hopkins & Allen, perhaps Hunter Long shows his face eventually also. The only grade I can give to our OL at the moment is ... adequate, since we haven't seen what chemistry a combination of Jackson, Avila, Allen, Anchrum & Havenstein might bring. Either way, I believe our OL depth has far, far improved from last season.
The defense should be fine at ILB with Jones, Hummel and ... I've got Deandre Square leading at #3 for the moment. Once Aaron Donald is back starting, our DL should certainly be returning to a more positive course. Bobby Brown has shown improvement, the battles between Murchison, Copeland, Jonah Williams, Earnest Brown, Desjuan Johnson & VanValkenburg continue. If nowhere else for now, Kobie Turner could offer some relief rotation for Donald. Our OLB's are plentiful, but who actually steps up in our hour of need ? Who can apply QB pressure, and who will set the EDGE ? I'm very happy with the way our DB's are shaping up, but without a solid pass rush, I fear it will be a tough year.
I'm still guessing at 6 or 7 wins for this season, although with our newly acquired experience, added high draft picks and much increased CAP for 2024, going deep into the play-offs is a bet I'd place.
jmo.